Hi all,
and so, it's been a few weeks since I discovered how to write
software for the JukeBox multimedia, the av1xx and the av3xx products.
Unfortunately, Archos have decided to threaten me with legal action if
I ever release anything. Even details of the ajz file format!
They believe that me releasing details of the ajz file format
would be considered under dmca circumventing a copy protection
mechanism. ie allowing people to *gasp* see their firmware in all it's
(not) glory.
At the moment, I am wondering if this is worth it. Archos do not
seem to recognise that most 5 year olds could program better firmware
than them, and they certainly do not seem to understand that what
customers want is a multi function device. Not just an audio/video
player, but a PDA/games machine/general computer etc etc.
It is amazingly worrying that a company can try to ban people from
writing software for their hardware. Isn't this effectively an unfair
monopoly???
Please please please keep up the pressure if you believe that
Archos should let other developers (Who can actually program) write
software for their products.
If any of you are legal experts, please give me your expert
opinion. I'm starting to think that computer law is one of the most
unfair, perverse, corporate friendly/individual unfriendly thing ever
dreamt up.
If I were an author, would I get arrested for reading other
peoples books to get ideas and learn about storyline construction etc?
If I wanted to make a table, and took apart other tables to learn how
they were made would they arrest me?
Obviously the law should protect copyright, but this is
effectively giving companies the power to do what they want and to
make it illegal for you to do anything interesting with their product.
As I say I'm pretty depressed about this whole thing and am
wondering if it's all really worth it. I still want to play networked
doom on my archos, whilst running mozilla over a compact flash
wireless card, but is it worth all this legal trouble?